The Story
The place
Sanjay Van, New Delhi, Delhi, India. I photographed this Jungle Babbler here on October 6, 2025, at about 8:29 a.m.
eBird lists 229 species all-time at Sanjay Van (as of October 2026).
The shot
I found this Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) on an old stump in Sanjay Van, a city forest in south Delhi, India, in October 2025. Sanjay Van is part of Delhi’s South-Central Ridge, an arm of the ancient Aravalli hills, and it holds ruins from the 12th century, including remains of the Lal Kot and Qila Rai Pithora fortifications. Jungle Babblers forage in groups of about six to ten, which is why they are called “seven sisters” in northern India, and they eat mainly insects along with grains, nectar and berries. The pale cream iris on this one marks an older bird; young babblers have dark eyes.
I photographed it with a Canon R5, the RF 800mm f/11 and the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 3200, with −1.5 EV exposure compensation. IUCN lists the Jungle Babbler as Least Concern with a stable population, and Sanjay Van is a notified reserved forest where the Delhi Development Authority’s restoration work includes reintroducing native plants and cleaning up the sewage water that flows into it.
©2026 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) belongs to the family Leiothrichidae (Laughingthrushes and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Estimated number remaining: not quantified (IUCN Red List). Source: IUCN Red List
